Speeding ticket!

[AdamW]

They had to get rid of the ones that display your actual speed, funny that! The idea was to "shame" people into slowing down, instead they just became a focus of speeding as certain people tried to see who could get the highest "score"

I like the flashing "slow down" signs, my experience is that it seems to reduce the number of people in a state of denial about where the lower speed limit begins (i.e. you have to slow down before the sign, not after it).

 

[pipme]

yesterday i was approaching one of those flashing slow down 30 mph signs when i looked at the speedo i was doing 32-33 ish but the sign did'nt light up?could my speedo be out ?as i'm also looking at 9 points would it be worth getting it checked out?

Simply follow a friend's car at an agreed speed on agreed signal, lead car left hand thumbs up = Plumb on target.

OR

Use the motorway? The phone boxes are, or were, one mile apart.
Drive at steady 70mph .. looking for 60 / 70 = 0.857 mins or 51.4 sec elapsed time twixt boxes (double check distance with the odometer ) Requires second person to do the biz in safety .. check between several boxes ..Time to get that digital watch with stop facility back into service
PS. Not 60 / 140 = 0.429 min = 25.7 secs per mile !!

 

[kendor]

Use the motorway? The phone boxes are, or were, one mile apart.
Drive at steady 70mph .. looking for 60 / 70 = 0.857 mins or 51.4 sec elapsed time twixt boxes (double check distance with the odometer ) Requires second person to do the biz in safety .. check between several boxes ..Time to get that digital watch with stop facility back into service
PS. Not 60 / 140 = 0.429 min = 25.7 secs per mile !!

(hastily scribbling on a scrap bit of paper) so that's 60 over 70, times distance travelled or is it divided? Then take away the number you first thought of then...CRASH,BANG,WALLOP! OOPS!

 

[pipme]

Scribbled on 'kin paper -- In the head matey, couldn't be easier - could it?

For any speed V mph, 60 ÷ V = Time in mins to travel 1 mile at V mph

So, when stuck on that windy road behind an HGV at 45, where 60 and a clear road is possible, but not guaranteed .. Don't fume ! just do in the head 60÷45 = 4÷3 = 1 1/3 mins or 1min 20sec per mile as opposed to the non guaranteed 1 min per mile at 60 mph.
10 miles at 45 mph ? takes 200sec or 3 mins 20sec longer than driving at 60 mph, time for an extra track on the CD perhaps..... Is it worth that risky overtaking manoeuver with no guaranteed quicker progress?
If tis too much trouble to do the little head calc .. then I would seriously consider my ability to think about driving. . maybe even breathing.

Makes you think ! Can keep you calm when you think time is draining away ... never as much as you imagine !!

 

[ohmygodwhathaveyoudone]

another thing that annoys me regarding speed is driving on the brakes i always seem to be behind mr dick who always has his brake lights on.some people say in an auto you get no engine braking but i just release pressure on the gas pedal.not hard really so why is it that these people can't keep a constant speed at 50 mph without dabbing their brakes and maintain a safe distance from the car in front in formula one they manage it at 190 mph + with no brake lights

 

[pipme]

A POLICE force is dismantling ten speed cameras and removing film from another 50 after the first official admission that badly positioned devices could undermine road safety.
West Midlands Police has found after a review of all its cameras that many fail to comply with strict government rules on where they can be located. The force is expected to be the first of many to remove devices after the Government ordered a national audit of Britain's 6,000 speed cameras.... Last month the department commissioned a two-year research project to investigate claims that the fall in road casualties at camera sites was due more to the random nature of crashes than to drivers slowing....

LINK

Hmmm. That is the police area where a certain Mr David Edgar http://www.notsoaccurate.com/Page 1.htm has been challenging the 'powers that fiddle' .... Can of worms I wonder?
Hey, up he's after the GMC union or self interest groupD) as well !!

 

[AdamW]

another thing that annoys me regarding speed is driving on the brakes

Yes, that one gets me too. I have noticed they are usually 3 feet from the car in front, hence any minor change in speed has to be met with brakes instead of engine braking. Autos still give enough engine braking that you don't require brake-dabbing if you drive at a sensible distance. You see plenty of people driving big autos in the inside lane who have no need to dab the brakes every 2 seconds!

They are close cousings of that other subset of annoying people, the "I'm going to brake at the speed camera regardless of whether or not I am speeding". For chrissakes, if you are so worried about cameras, make sure you are aware of the speed limit and stick to it

On Sunday I tried an experiment. I was going home for Father's Day. I left far earlier than I needed to (partly because of a hangover, ouch). I decided that for nearly 4 years I have been making this journey and never once just taken in the scenery. So, I drove the whole way at about 55mph, mostly in the inside lane. It took me a bit longer, but I got to see the Herts, Bucks and Surrey countryside for a change, and I had no stress whatsoever because no-one was holding me up. Plenty of other people were driving at this speed in the inside lane too, in front and behind me.

I reckon that is how motorways were originally, in the days when the top speed of most family cars was 70mph, people probably took their time and enjoyed the journey, the changing scenery.

It gave me more time to laugh at the BMW that had been pulled over for speeding as well...

 

[pipme]

........On Sunday I tried an experiment. I was going home for Father's Day. I left far earlier than I needed to (partly because of a hangover, ouch). ......

Good job you were sober .... Glad you made it.

 

[AdamW]

I'm not saying that was the reason for being more leisurely, but I'm not saying it wasn't, either. According to the old rule of thumb about 2 hours per pint then I should have been under the limit by then.

 

[kendor]

Scribbled on 'kin paper -- In the head matey, couldn't be easier - could it?

For any speed V mph, 60 ÷ V = Time in mins to travel 1 mile at V mph

So, when stuck on that windy road behind an HGV at 45, where 60 and a clear road is possible, but not guaranteed .. Don't fume ! just do in the head 60÷45 = 4÷3 = 1 1/3 mins or 1min 20sec per mile as opposed to the non guaranteed 1 min per mile at 60 mph.
10 miles at 45 mph ? takes 200sec or 3 mins 20sec longer than driving at 60 mph, time for an extra track on the CD perhaps..... Is it worth that risky overtaking manoeuver with no guaranteed quicker progress?
If tis too much trouble to do the little head calc .. then I would seriously consider my ability to think about driving. . maybe even breathing.

Makes you think ! Can keep you calm when you think time is draining away ... never as much as you imagine !!

Oh is that what that funny looking thing with a moving needle is for i wondered about that and why it wouldn't go any further than the little post would allow it to.

 

[pipme]

 

[securespark]

I have got the photos from the police.

It is not easy to judge how far the vehicle has travelled across the lines. If I assume the elapsed time between shots is indeed 0.5sec., then the extra 6mph I was allegedly travelling equates to 1.34m of travel in that time.

Anyone know what distance apart the white markers are?

 

[pipme]

2 metres gap for markings, I believe. ( have to verify 'on the road' )

From the Cops manual... Gatsometers
Camera evidence to be within 10% of Radar.
Radar to be within 2 mph of actual, to 60mph, then within 2%.

I guess that is where the 10% + 2mph advisory camera set point - under threat - is derived from. ...
30 = 30+3+2=35
I believe the calibration sets / checks that the radar works within ±2mph x a factor less than 1.
The cam flash delay and pix interpretation is a moot point... Tis said that pix always shows 0.5 secs but flash delay is operator adjustable between 0.5 to 0.7 sec.

If one was driving at actual 35 radar at -2 mph or -2% and cam -10% of radar... (35 - 2) x 0.90 = 29.7

At 78 x 0.98 x 0.9 = 68.8 and 80 x 0.98 x 0.9 = 70.6
The above examples lead to the choice, imho of 35 and 78 to 80 being NIP levels which we read about....
Cam tested at true 70mph could read, and remain on edge of calib limits, (70-2) x 0.9 = 61.2 mph or at the other end of scale (70+2) x 1.1 = 79.2 mph Guess lawyers would have a field day, if involved of course...

Calibration means that at the time of test the machine was within limits -- no mention of verification of performance as recieved at lab -- perhaps the old 'work log' may be revealing too !! Or is the Gatsometer a perfect instrument ???
The camera is supposed to be the stand alone verification of the radar .. Now if someone twiddles the 'pot' (it is suggested this can be done) extending the flash delay ... perhaps to make camera within 10% of radar based on several recent non verified 'flashings' They could be adjusting the cam to match an out of tolerance radar, of course not altering the calibrated radar ... A useful managerial ploy .... Who would ever know ?

Maybe the Lab should verify the Cam prior to Calibration ..

Wide open to fiddling I reckon.... But allowed due to speedcam euphoria.

 

[securespark]

Pip

My pics say 0.5 second, but it seems the car has traversed 4 lines - can this be right?

 

[pipme]

Pip

My pics say 0.5 second, but it seems the car has traversed 4 lines - can this be right?

If you mean 4 spaces or gaps, and we have 2 metre gaps, then :-

4 x 2 x 100 ÷ 2.54 ÷ 12 x 2 x 3600 ÷ 5280 = 35.8 mph.

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